Safeguarding with science: Vespa velutina (Asian hornet).

​During a recent visit to the UK Xesús Feás received a warm invite to visit the National Bee Unit (NBU), from Doctor Mike Brown, Head of the NBU at Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA). ​

The NBU delivers the Bee Health Programmes on behalf of Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and also works on behalf of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government.

The meeting took place in The National Agri-food Innovation Campus located at Sand Hutton (York) on 31st August, It was a successful meeting and the overall spirit was that of a joint projection to unite in the fight against Vespa velutina giving open and honest discussions of the current situation. At the same time it was a unique opportunity to share our research about Vespa velutina, and start a fruitful collaboration.​We brought together awareness about the risk of the invasive Vespa velutina, as well as the different experiences of combating the pest in other countries in order to find possible methods to control its expansion and to mitigate the negative effects in the beekeeping sector and in the environmental field as a whole. We shared information about the research program funded by Diputación de A Coruña carried out at the University of Santiago de Compostela to investigate new methods of controlling the Vespa velutina. At the same time, a consortium of scientists from the NBU and the Universities of Warwick and Newcastle have used data on the spread of the Asian hornet in France to develop a mathematical model that can estimate the hornet spread in the UK. There is a necessity for heightened vigilance of the Asian hornet in the UK.

​Vespa velutina will undoubtedly profoundly alter our environment, affecting ecosystem processes and impacting on European society. As researchers we recognize the need to effectively confront the social dimensions and conflicts inherent to the invasive Vespa velutina research and management. The European Union has called for extensive research and dissemination of scientific knowledge on everything related to beekeeping to generate a general consensus and share appropriate knowledge.

Xesús believes this strategy is important going forward allowing adequate dissemination and socialization of scientific results and fostering relationships between scientists and beekeepers alike. The information provided on the Vespa velutina should be: correct, relevant, accessible, effective and based on scientific evidence. Society needs scientists that mix with the public explaining, surprising and enthusing.

The organization of society as a whole body against invasive Vespa velutina needs the expansion of knowledge, both in the exact sciences (like insect biology, mathematics, physics and chemistry) and the human and social sciences (like economics, psychology and political science). Approaching problems from an inter-disciplinary point of view and sharing the knowledge gathered in different areas is the new challenge facing research to mitigate the deleterious effects of Vespa velutina.

This is the horizon we’re moving towards. Our hopes are to stop the uncontrolled spread and effects of Vespa velutina.

​Vespa velutina in UK: The contingency response has been initiated.

The National Bee Unit has confirmed another sighting of the Asian hornet at an apiary near Woolacombe in Devon (18 September 2017). This is the first confirmed sighting since last year, when a nest was discovered in the Tetbury area in Gloucestershire (20 September 2016).

Beekeepers within the area of the outbreak will be contacted by Bee Inspectors in order to carry out apiary inspections and to hang out traps and we ask for full your co-operation during these visits.

Work to identify, destroy and remove any nests is already underway, which includes:• opening a local control centre to coordinate the response;• deploying bee inspectors across the area, and;• readying nest disposal experts who will use pesticides to kill the hornets and destroy any nests.https://www.gov.uk/gover…/…/asian-hornet-identified-in-devon